Saturday, January 14, 2006

India's Girl Deficit - Gender Based Foeticide

The Skeleton in the Closet cannot be kept hidden

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The Indian Medical Association disputed the report by BBC,January 10th, that "....selective abortion was causing the loss of 500,000 girl births a year." However, the story has got legs. The Christian Science Monitor is carrying a report datelined New Delhi January 13, 2006 filed by Scott Baldauf. Since Mr. Baldauf's report was published after the Indian Medical Association's argument became known, one assumes that he and the CSM did due diligence before proceeding with it.

Excerpts:

The practice is common among all religious groups - Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Muslims, and Christians - but appears to be most common among educated women, a fact that befuddles public health officials and women's rights activists alike.

"More educated women have more access to technology, they are more privileged, and most educated families have the least number of children," says Sabu George, a researcher with the Center for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi, who did not participate in the study. "This is not just India. Everywhere in the world, smaller families come at the expense of girls."

Like China, India has encouraged smaller families through a mixture of financial incentives and campaigns calling for two children at most. Faced with such pressure, many families, rich and poor alike, are turning to prenatal selection to ensure that they receive a son. It's a problem with many potential causes - from social traditions to the economic burden of dowries - but one that could have strong social repercussions for generations to come.